Universes in Live From The Edge at Dance Place

Dance Place welcomes Universes in Live From The Edge, a work that fuses poetry, theater, jazz, hip-hop, politics, down home blues and Spanish boleros into a unique and unforgettable whole. The group will also perform selections from their acclaimed dance theater piece Ameriville.

Description

An ensemble of multi-disciplined writers and performers who fuse poetry, theater, jazz, hip-hop, politics, down home blues and Spanish boleros, Universes creates moving, challenging and entertaining theatrical works. The group breaks the bounds of traditional theater to create their own brand of performance, inviting old and new generations of theater-makers as well as theater-goers and new comers to reshape the face of American theater.

Their work Live From the Edge is an evening that showcases the ensemble’s special brand of fusion theater in a “best of” event that tracks the evolution of their poetic language from childhood rhymes and community rituals, to poetry and theater, hip-hop and gospel. Redefining what theater is and who it speaks to, Live From the Edge is a unique performance event that turns the poem into a communal act.

Universes will also perform selections from Ameriville,a piece using Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans as a lens to further scrutinize and explore the state of the union in its attitudes about race, poverty, politics, history and government. Ameriville is about America, and Universes has moved their neighborhood to put this country under the microscope. This is not a documentary piece though it will have some documentary perspectives. Universes will employ poetry, music, movement and drama to get to the heart of this tragedy.

Ameriville is an NPN Creation Fund Project co-commissioned by New World Theater in partnership with Myrna Loy Center, Dance Place and NPN. This project is made possible by support from NPN Performance Residency Program. This presentation is also supported in part by MAAF and the NEA.